Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $44.75 and traded as high as $47.47. Northwest Natural Gas shares last traded at $47.3840, with a volume of 319,311 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on NWN. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.33.

Northwest Natural Gas Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $47.00 and its 200-day moving average is $44.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported ($0.73) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.82) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $164.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.66 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 7.94% and a return on equity of 8.30%. Northwest Natural Gas’s revenue was up 20.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.71) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a $1.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This is an increase from Northwest Natural Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 16.6%. Northwest Natural Gas’s payout ratio is 78.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,468 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total value of $358,090.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 36,954 shares in the company, valued at $1,771,944.30. This trade represents a 16.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the third quarter worth about $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 77.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 104.3% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 44.3% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Gas Company Profile

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE: NWN), commonly known as NW Natural, is a publicly traded energy utility primarily engaged in the distribution of natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, the company operates an extensive pipeline network spanning thousands of miles across Oregon and southwest Washington. Its core business activities include gas procurement, system operation and maintenance, safety inspections and customer service support.

Dating back to the mid-19th century, Northwest Natural traces its origins to the Portland Gas Light Company, which first illuminated Portland streets with manufactured gas in 1859.